


Obsidian

by ZoneRobotnik



Series: Filling the Blanks [6]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Gen, Team Awesome (Disney: Tangled), Varian Angst (Disney), Varian Has Issues (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik
Summary: Eugene asks Varian to build a weapon to overcome the black rocks. Varian knows exactly what he needs to use.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian
Series: Filling the Blanks [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801066
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Obsidian

**Author's Note:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney 
> 
> (Suggested by annernaner5 on Instagram)

“Darn it, Lance…” Varian muttered as he rubbed at his chest, looking over the blueprints of his destroyed “Rooster” invention. He pushed them away and sighed, laying his head on his arms on the table. Thanks to his little games, he’d not only failed to impress and help the royal family, but he was even more hurt than before. He let out a heavy sigh and looked out the window, his gaze vacant as he thought of the tall, black tower in that direction. He couldn’t see it with all the buildings in the way, but he knew it was there, a constant reminder of his captivity.  
  
He slowly got up and went to a cabinet, which he opened to look at the bottles of various solutions, all labeled. Maybe if he hadn’t labeled the truth serum that day…no, she would have just beaten it out of him with her fists, probably. Or threatened his life, or his father’s life, with her sword.  
  
He moved a hand to the amber solution, his fingers trembling as they wrapped around the neck of the bottle and lifted it up. The solution was useless without the black rocks, and harmless to humans. Still, he felt sick every time he held it, even after using it to battle the red rocks.  
  
Ruddiger nuzzled his legs as he walked around them and he looked down with a sad smile, thinking of how he’d almost lost him that day. If it wasn’t for the amber solution, so many people would be…  
  
He set the solution down and closed the cabinet with a sigh.  
  
“Varian!”  
  
He yelped in alarm as the door to his lab was opened and Eugene strode in, the gold on his new red and gold uniform gleaming in the sunlight that shone through the window.  
  
“Eugene.” Varian turned to him. “What is it?”  
  
“Well, kid, for once this isn’t a pleasure call.” Eugene closed the door behind him. “I need your help.”  
  
“What is it?” Varian asked again, walking over to him.  
  
“Well,” Eugene waited until he’d reached him to continue, “as you know, we’ve been having a certain amount of trouble that starts with ‘C’ and ends with ‘dra’. Her armor, made of the black rocks, is completely indestructible! So, I was hoping that you, with your _brilliant_ mind, could think of a way to get through that armor so we can take her down!”  
  
“Black rocks…” Varian breathed, turning back to the cabinet. “Yeah, I…I have something already.”  
  
“Really? That was fast!” Eugene said as he walked over to open the cabinet.  
  
“Yeah…I’ve had it for…about a couple years now.” He picked up the amber solution, looking at it with a grim expression.  
  
Eugene gasped softly. “Oh…oh, _kid_ …”  
  
“You said it, her armor is made of black rocks. And nothing can get through the rocks but her own sword…and this.” He turned to him. “I’m going to turn her armor into amber. It will completely encase her, thus ending her tyranny forever. Or…whenever Rapunzel decides to free her, I guess.”  
  
“But, Varian…” Eugene walked towards him. “Rapunzel told me about how you were terrified to use it before, that…that it reminded you of…”  
  
“I know. And it still does.” He moved a hand to his chest, but not for the reason Eugene probably thought. “But, if we don’t _stop_ her, then she’ll just hurt more people. I know _firsthand_ the kind of power she wields…and her capacity for _cruelty_.” He clutched at his shirt. “We can’t go easy on her, we can’t…she has to be _stopped_ , Eugene. No matter _what_ we have to do.”  
  
“Kid…” Eugene sighed. “Varian, I don’t—”  
  
“It won’t _kill_ her.” Varian assured him. “It’ll just…trap her. And then Rapunzel can use the decay incantation and free her, and she’ll probably need a blanket to cover up, because her armor, her _clothes_ are made of black rocks.” He blushed a bit and then went on. “But, you know, at least she’ll be _beaten_ , right? Or at least weakened. And while she’s down, we can take the Moonstone from her and, I dunno, destroy it? Lock it up? _Whatever_ we do with it, _she_ won’t have it anymore.”  
  
Eugene looked at him thoughtfully, then sighed and took the amber solution, looking at it thoughtfully. “…Okay.” He nodded. “But, how are we going to use it? Put it in those alchemy balls of yours?”  
  
“No, we need something we can just attach the bottle to, an alchemy ball won’t be enough.” Varian shook his head. “I’ll figure something out.” He walked over to the lab table, then paused before turning to the blueprints of the rooster. “…We can make a little cannon.”  
  
“A what?” Eugene asked.  
  
“I can make a small, hand-held alchemy cannon!” Varian said excitedly. “Yes! I—I need to work!” He sat down at his desk and grabbed his pencil and paper before starting to draw.  
  
Eugene put the amber solution back into the cabinet and then closed it before walking over to him. “Okay, then. Call me when the blueprints are done and I’ll help you build it.”  
  
“Will do!” Varian said, eagerly getting into his task. “Oh, can you ask a maid to bring some sliced apples? Thanks.”  
  
Eugene chuckled. “Will do.” He said, heading for the door to open it and walk out.  
  
\--  
  
He worked on the blueprints for hours, coming up with several different designs but never quite finding the right one. He kept the designs for later, though, just in case he wanted to try making them. Finally, he settled on one he called the “bazooka” and called Eugene back in.  
  
“So, how is this gonna work?” Eugene asked as they studied the blueprints and got to work on the machine.  
  
“Basically, we load the bottles up here, as I put in the blueprints, and it runs through this…you’re not actually paying attention.” Varian sighed. “We attach the bottles, we aim, we pull the trigger, she gets encased in amber. Got it?”  
  
“Got it.” Eugene gave a thumbs-up.  
  
“Great.” Varian nodded. “Let’s get this done, then.”  
  
\--  
  
“Varian,” Eugene said as they worked, “are you really _okay_ with this? I mean, _building_ it is one thing…maybe _someone else_ should _use_ it.”  
  
“No.” Varian said firmly. “After what she _did to me_ , I think I deserve to _fight back_. I’m using it myself. I already know the effects, that she won’t die. My dad was in amber for a _year_ and he didn’t die, so she’ll be _fine_ for a day or two.” He looked at him. “I’m okay, Eugene. Really. At least…you know, about the amber. I used it on the red rocks—”  
  
“But, that wasn’t a _person_.” Eugene said with concern.  
  
“It’s fine.” Varian looked back at their work. “Let’s just focus on the work. Cassandra could attack at any time; we need to be ready.”  
  
“Right.” Eugene nodded. “Okay.”  
  
\--  
  
They worked for days on the weapon, which Varian had called “Project Obsidian” because of it being made specifically to battle the black rocks. Several times, Eugene tried to talk to him about it, about the amber, about using it on a person, but Varian just waved it off and went back to work.  
  
Three days later, between Eugene having to constantly leave for his Royal Guard duties and Varian having to stop for meals and sleep, it was done. Eugene sighed as he stood next to Varian, looking at their creation. “Wow.”  
  
“It’s done.” Varian nodded.  
  
“We should…test it out.” Eugene turned to him. “Before that, though…we need to fill out a permission form.”  
  
“Permission form?” Varian asked, confused.  
  
“Yeah, like when you built the Rooster.” Eugene nodded.  
  
“Oh, right. Yeah, the old Captain did have me fill that out.” Varian said, nodding thoughtfully. “He kind of…resigned at an awkward time.”  
  
“Well, who can blame him? I mean, I don’t know if I could fight _my_ kid.” Eugene shrugged.  
  
“I wonder if _my_ dad would’ve fought _me_.” Varian said to himself, glancing away.  
  
Eugene glanced at him. “…I think…he wouldn’t have.”  
  
Varian smiled a bit. “But then, if he was _there,_ I _never_ would’ve been…” He wrapped his arms around himself. “The _Darkness_ would’ve never…”  
  
“Hey.” Eugene wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. “We all have our bad days. And we all messed up, should’ve been there for you.”  
  
Varian closed his eyes, then opened them and stepped out of his embrace. “Yeah…” He sighed. “By the time someone was there to try to talk me out of it, I was so far gone…” He walked over to Project Obsidian. “I thought maybe I could talk Cassandra out of it. Was she stubborn or was I just a fool? Did I not try enough? Everything I told her was the truth – I had no choice in the matter, at that time.”  
  
“CassANdra has her…” Eugene sighed. “None of us saw it coming, kid. It wasn’t something that could be pinpointed to a certain point of her deciding to go rogue. Sometime while we were in that…crazy shell house, she found out about her real heritage. And, you know, finding out about your heritage is a shocker, it _really_ is, but I think she blew it completely out of proportion, I certainly didn’t turn on Rapunzel and—” He stopped himself short and chuckled a bit. “…Actually, no, yeah. I almost did, to protect her. I thought the Moonstone would kill her if she touched it, but…I decided to trust her.”  
  
“How did Cassandra even get so close?” Varian turned to him. “Why was she able to _take_ it?”  
  
Eugene sighed. “She followed Rapunzel out there. We never thought anything of it, and then…then she was taking the Moonstone and it was all over.”  
  
“It’s not over.” Varian moved his hand to his chest, his lips pursed, and then picked up the machine. “It’s _not_ over. Let’s get that form written up. She’s had her chances to turn back on her own. She’s proven she won’t.” He clutched at the machine. “And I’m ready to start fighting back.”  
  
Eugene nodded and went to the door. “I’ll go get it, then.”  
  
Varian nodded and set down the machine again, staring at it silently as he listened to the door open and close behind him. “It’s not over…” He whispered, running his gloved hand along the machine. He paused and took off his glove, placing his bare hand against the cold metal and glass.  
  
“It’s not _over_ ,” he muttered, “until _she_ feels the same amount of _pain_ and _agony_ that I am.” He clutched at his chest and let out a choked gasp of pain, no longer needing to pretend now that Eugene was out of the room. “She needs to _suffer_ for _everything_ …maybe then, she’ll realize that _she **is** the villain_.”  
  
A _pathetic_ villain, with _pathetic_ motivations, but a _villain_ nonetheless no matter what _she_ seems to think. If she wanted to embrace the darkness and ignore his warning, slap away his reaching hand, then she can _drown_ in it. And, with this amber, he’ll force her to her _knees_ in it.  
  
He pulled his gloves back on and started to clean up their workspace. They still needed to test it, of course, but there were plenty of black rocks around. He’d go out with Eugene and test it out when they finished with the form.  
  
He heard footsteps approaching and composed himself, pretending he was just fine, that he wasn’t in constant pain. The door opened and Eugene came in and brought over the form.  
  
“Alright, let’s fill this out and then we’ll take this baby,” Eugene patted the machine, “outside and test it on some black rocks!”  
  
Varian nodded, picking up ink and quill and starting to write on the form.  
  
\--  
  
One by one, the black rocks were consumed by the amber. It was a satisfying sight, seeing the Cassandra dummies be encased, a precursor to what would happen if she _dared_ to cross Varian’s path again.  
  
“Alright, Team Awesome!” Varian cheered as he and Eugene pulled up their matching goggles as they stood up from behind the hay they were kneeling behind. “Project Obsidian is a _success_!” He said cheerfully, high-fiving and bumping hips with Eugene in celebration.  
  
“Project Obsidian?”  
  
They both jolted and turned around, Varian hiding the weapon behind his back awkwardly as Rapunzel walked up to them.  
  
“Project Obsidian.” Varian confirmed. “It’s a device that can destroy Cassandra—” Eugene leaned on him with a pointed look when he noticed his expression had grown darker at the thought of Cassandra again, an unfortunate reflex, “—’s _self-esteem_!” He quickly added, cringing up at the man before he let him stand up properly again, the two of them smiling at Rapunzel after that.  
  
Okay, time to go before he says anything else _stupid_. He decided to leave Eugene to do the talking and getting Rapunzel to sign the form thing and focused on taking out the rest of the dummies.  
  
“Eugene,” Rapunzel started irritably, “we are _not_ attacking Cassandra.”  
  
“Of _course_ we’re not going to attack her, Sunshine,” Eugene assured her.  
  
A lie, of course.  
  
“But, I’m Captain of the Guard now. I have to be prepared to protect our people from any contingencies.”  
  
‘This is everything she deserves. She threw her happy life away for a mother she barely knew, this is the price she has to pay.’ Varian thought as he shot at more black rocks. ‘I need to make her pay. She _has_ to pay. For everything she did to Rapunzel, to _me_ …if it wasn’t for her deciding to go against her word and attacking me the moment I did anything _foolish_ , I wouldn’t be in so much _pain_ right now!’  
  
“But, I—" Eugene cut himself off as Varian fired again.  
  
He glanced over and saw Eugene shooting him a dirty look and sheepishly lowered the weapon. Right… _not_ helping to convince Rapunzel that they won’t shoot Cassandra on sight if he’s maliciously destroying dummies with her face on them.  
  
“But, I _won’t_ use this thing without your approval.” Eugene said, pulling out the form as Varian walked over to join them.  
  
Varian clutched at the weapon. They needed to convince her. “Princess, believe me,” he said softly, “ _I_ don’t want to hurt Cass, either.” It wouldn’t kill her, she could be easily freed, they knew that well. He looked at her with a well-practiced pleading expression as he stepped towards her before he let the mask slip away as he went on. “But, we can't _promise_ that _she’s_ not gonna try to hurt _us_.” This was just a preventive measure, self-defense. If _she_ didn’t attack, neither would _they_.  
  
Rapunzel sighed, looking reluctant. “Okay. I will sign it to protect Corona.” She said, accepting the form, looking at him as she spoke. He felt a little guilty, using her desire to protect Corona to further his own goals. Had things even changed? He was still using her loyalty to the Kingdom to—no. This was different. After all, she’d come for him this time. This wasn’t him getting back at her, using her, _hurting her_ , _tricking her into treason_. This was just them both coming to the realization of the threat Cassandra posed. “But, we won’t _need_ it,” she went on, “because I _know_ the Cass we love is still _in there_ somewhere.”  
  
Considering what he’d been through, Varian was finding it hard to believe that. Still, he stayed silent as Eugene offered her a prepared quill and she signed the form that would allow them to use the weapon against Cassandra – _if_ it became necessary. _If_ she attacked.  
  
Some small, hopeful part of him hoped he _wouldn’t_ have to use it. But, the vengeful part of him, the part of him that had been reawakened that day at the tower when he was knocked around by black rocks and left to sit in the cage for hours, was already itching to pull the trigger again.   
  
Cassandra had dragged him back into the darkness when he offered her a hand out of it and he was floundering to stay afloat.   
  
End

**Author's Note:**

> Armed and ready, they prepare to face Cassandra.


End file.
